Funding opportunities for child care businesses, employers

A pair of grant opportunities aim to provide funding for existing child care facilities as well as for employers looking to provide child care to their employees.

The first grant, called the Early Learning Facilities run by the Washington State Department of Commerce, is offering funding for minor renovations to early learning facilities.

The second grant – run by the Center for Retention and Expansion of Child Care Northwest (C-RECC-NW) in partnership with Skagit County and Population Health Trust – will provide funding to one or two employers who want to expand child care availability for employees.

Read on to get more details about each program. EDASC’s Aaron Weinberg is available to help answer general questions about these opportunities at aaron@skagit.org.
 

Pilot project for employer-based child care now accepting LOIs

The Center for Retention and Expansion of Child Care Northwest (C-RECC-NW), a division of the Early Leaning and Family Services Department at the Opportunity Council, has partnered with Skagit County and Population Health Trust to allocate Federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars. Skagit County has allotted $75,000 to support one or two employers who want to expand child care availability for employees. Increasing accessibility to high-quality child care cultivates economic opportunities for families and businesses today and into the future.

The Skagit Employer-Based Child Care Pilot Project will be a two-step process. A Letter of Interest (LOI) form will be open for employers who are interested in creating employer-driven opportunities for their employees to access child care. Upon completion of the LOI, funding applications for the Skagit Employer-Based Child Care Pilot Project will be sent to selected candidates. C-RECC will be available to offer technical assistance and answer questions for employers unfamiliar with the various methods of expanding child care opportunities.

Those interested can read more about the project and access the LOI here. 

For more information, please reach out to the C-RECC team at childcarebiz@oppco.org.

Funding for minor renovations to early learning facilities

The Early Learning Facilities (ELF) program of the Washington State Department of Commerce will open a new funding round for the Child Care Minor Renovations Grant for Health and Safety on Feb. 1, 2024.

Grants are for minor renovations and small capital improvements to existing early learning and childcare facilities licensed or certified by the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) on or before July 1, 2023.

Eligibility details:
•    Family homes, child care centers, tribes, and public school districts are all eligible to apply.
•    All work must be performed by licensed and bonded contractors.
•    Grant recipients must commit to providing child care services at the awarded location for 10 years after completing the renovation project.
•    Unlike previous ELF funding rounds, providers do not need to increase their number of spaces to apply.
Projects that are already completed are not eligible to apply and costs incurred before the date of award letter are not eligible for reimbursement.

Prior to starting the application process, be sure to read the Program Guidelines, Frequently Asked Questions and Notice of Funding Opportunity documents.

View the grant application, supporting documents and grant timeline on the ELF webpage.

Questions? Contact earlylearningfacilities@commerce.wa.gov